Fringe vs Avengers
by writergirl712
Summary: Olivia Dunham argues with Tony Stark, Steve Rogers befriends Astrid, Bruce Banner fanboys over Walter Bishop, Ella Dunham interviews Natasha Romanaov, and Peter Bishop and Clint Barton hang out. When the Fringe Division and The Avengers (backed by SHIELD) interact, personalities clash and instant friendships are born.
1. First Meeting

**A/N:** I don't own The Avengers or Fringe, etc etc etc

Welcome to the Fringe/Avengers crossover! I'm pretty much willing to do a Fringe crossover with anything that I love. Which includes Batman, the Avengers, Sherlock Holmes, and Artemis Fowl. Hope you enjoy these quick drabbles!

* * *

Tony Stark looked Olivia Dunham up and down: smart black suit, long blonde hair, a no-nonsense expression, and a Glock 19 pistol held confidently with both hands. With a shrug, he turned away from her.

"Eh, I've seen worse," he remarked casually. "How much harm can you actually do?"

The lights in the workroom flickered briefly, and Tony could have sworn a few of his inanimate tools jittered for a moment. As soon as he turned his head to look at them, they stopped moving.

Agent Dunham holstered her gun, her expression hard.

"Mr. Stark, you have no _idea_ what I can do."

* * *

**A/N:** I've got some more ideas for crossovers, which I may or may not write depending on my time and creativity. Let me know if anyone wants to see anything in particular!

-Olivia leads the Cortexiphan kids (James, Nick, and Sally) in helping people during the Centauri invasion

-Steve catches sight of Olivia using her cortexiphan abilities to help people during the invasion, then asks the Avengers later if people nowadays have superpowers (to which the others look at him like he's crazy, since all of their abilities are science-based or otherworldly)

-Astrid meets Steve in Best Buy looking for a new laptop (because Tony had been making fun of his old one) and helps him pick one, then becomes friends with him

-Bruce meets Walter Bishop and fanboys over him and his work (then is slightly perturbed by his weirdness)

-Broyles and Nick Fury meet at a top-secret conference and shoot the breeze

-Tony Stark confronts Olivia about the mutual relationship between Massive Dynamic and the Fringe Division, since Massive Dynamic is a big competitor of Stark Industries and has some shadowy, immoral parts

-Ella Dunham meets Natasha and asks frank questions about what she does for a living

-Peter and Clint hang out, go to a shooting range, and talk about how much they love and respect their partners


	2. Tony's Arc

**A/N: **Reviews welcome guys! I'd love some input.

* * *

After the infamous alien invasion that had nearly been avoided thanks to the Avengers, New York City was in ruins. Well, not all of it. Somehow, through sheer good luck, the Massive Dynamic building stood almost perfectly intact. As she approached the building accompanied by Walter and Peter, Olivia glanced around at the nearby building renovations.

Not that Walter or Peter seemed to notice. Walter, who was fidgeting even as they crossed the expansive pure white lobby, was obviously not looking forward to the yearly meeting that he was required to attend. The scientist was rearranging his bow tie and tweed coat, while Peter tried to calm him down.

"Peter, I'm telling you, I'm perfectly fine! I've done much worse things, I'm not nervous in the least. In fact, there was one time in the 70's when-"

Peter just shook his head and steered his father towards the elevators, giving Olivia an exasperated look that clearly said he couldn't wait until it was all over. As her cell phone went off, Olivia turned away, hiding a grin. She glanced at it before picking up - it was Broyles - and gave her usual one-word greeting.

"Dunham."

"Are you and the Bishops already at Massive Dynamic?"

Olivia glanced at the father and son. Walter was squinting at the lights that counted the descension of the nearest elevator, and Peter was watching his father warily. Olivia had the feeling Peter was probably listening in to her conversation.

"Yes, we're in the building," she said, turning her attention back to the conversation. "Walter's meeting is going to start in fifteen minutes, and I have to talk to Nina. Why?"

"Cancel your plans; the three of you are needed for something else. We're sending someone for the Bishops to look at. Nina said there's a lab on the 47th floor that's available."

Olivia looked over at Peter, who was now watching her, having heard Broyles' orders. The three of them entered a nearby elevator as it opened, and Peter hit the button for floor 47. Walter didn't seem to notice.

"Where did you get the body?" Olivia asked, as the elevator began to rise. Walter - who had calmed down - was now humming.

"It's not a corpse," Broyles assured her. "It's someone unconscious who needs immediate help."

Peter, who was still looking at her, raised his eyebrows questioningly. Olivia just shook her head in response. Broyles was purposefully withholding information from her, fully aware that if he gave away too much, she would demand more answers. Then again, he also knew that if he didn't tell her anything, she would just keep asking more questions.

"Sir, _who is it_?"

There was a pause on the other end, and she pictured the look on Broyles' face when he was trying to determine how much information to tell her. It was one of her least favorite expressions from her boss.

Finally, he spoke.

"Are the Bishops familiar with arc reactor technology?"

* * *

**A/N: **Not really sure what happened to Tony, but I'm going with something along the lines of: he was in a fight somewhere on the east coast, and his arc reactor got damaged, so before he passed out he headed to the nearest place with a suitable lab - Massive Dynamic. Walter, Peter, and Olivia happened to be there, and Walter and Peter are the resident genii, so everyone thought it was a good idea to let them have a go at fixing Tony.

And look! I made a pun.


	3. A Bout with Tony

**A/N:** Olivia Dunham fights with Tony Stark! Pepper Potts makes an appearance!

* * *

"Hey, Dunham! Want a go?"

Olivia looked up from the files she was showing to Virginia "Pepper" Potts. For some reason, Tony Stark had insisted on doing some afternoon boxing at his own mini-boxing rink, and since Ms. Potts was determined to have a certain conversation with him, she had followed him to the room. And since Olivia was determined to get some signatures from Ms. Potts, she had followed her to the room as well. Spending more time with Tony Stark than she had to was not her idea of a pleasant experience, but she was there to talk to the CEO of Stark Industries, and that CEO was there to talk to Tony.

Which was why they were all in the sweat-smelling room while Tony did some boxing with Harold "Happy" Hogan, former valet and bodyguard for Stark and now head of security for Stark Industries. Apparently, Tony wanted a new challenger, which led to his offer to Olivia.

Olivia, sitting in one of the chairs next to Pepper, raised her eyebrows at Tony.

"Mr. Stark," she said dryly, "as much as I would love to box with you, I'm in the middle of something important."

Tony bounced up and down, clearly anticipating a fight.

"Come on, just one quick bout. It'll make you feel better! Pepper's busy reading all of the fine print, anyway, right?"

The redheaded woman waved this away, her eyes still on the files.

"Don't bring _me_ into the middle of this," she replied distractedly. When Olivia looked at her, the CEO met her gaze and whispered behind the folder, "Kick his ass."

Good God. This company. If Stark Industries wasn't such an important funder and supplier of the Fringe Divison…Olivia rolled her eyes and stood up, shrugging out of her suit jacket and rolling up the sleeves of her white cotton business shirt. Tony, seeing that she had wordlessly agreed to his challenge, stepped backwards, still moving to keep ready.

"'Atta girl! Now I know you trigger-happy guys in the X-Files Division-"

"Fringe Divison."

"-don't get a lot of hand-to-hand combat experience, but-"

With a dull thud, Olivia's first plowed into Tony's face, catching him by surprise. He recovered quickly though, dodging the agent's next punch and responding with a sharp jab at her side, which she blocked with her forearm. When Tony struck at her other side, Olivia dodged his punch, seized his wrist, then _twisted_it, forcing the man to his knees.

With her other hand, the agent pointed her index finger and thumb in a "hand gun" at Tony.

"If I used my gun, this would be a lot different," she told him matter-of-factly.

From the ground, Mr. Stark just grinned.

"If I had my Iron Man suit, this would be a lot different," he retorted. Olivia thought about this for a moment, then nodded. She released Tony's wrist, then helped him get back to his feet.

"I think it depends on what kind of gun I was using," she commented, as Tony caught the icebag that Happy thew him, and applied it to his eye. At her remark, Tony raised an eyebrow.

"A gun that can shoot through reinforced armored plating?" he asked skeptically. "Stark Industries doesn't build those."

Olivia slipped on her suit jacket, then picked up the signed documents from Pepper. Before she left the room, she said over her shoulder, "Who said we got them from Stark Industries?"

Tony stared at the agent's retreating back, looked at Pepper - who shrugged - then looked back at Olivia, who was already out the door. Still clutching the icebag to his eye, Tony fast-walked after the Fringe agent, peppering her with questions.

"Wait a minute, who's supplying you with those weapons? Is it Massive Dynamic? Because they shouldn't be trusted with that tech. Who gave it to them? Did they develop it themselves?"

With a small smile, Pepper watched him go.

"Hey, JARVIS?"

"Yes, Ms. Potts?"

"Schedule a visit to New York. I need to pay Nina Sharp a visit."


	4. Suit Up

**A/N: **You didn't think Fringe would miss the Chitauri Invasion party, did you?

* * *

The first thing Olivia saw upon departing the plane was Brandon Fayette, one of Massive Dynamic's leading scientists. The young man, who had lost his lab coat in favor of a bullet-proof vest, was flanked by two heavily-armed Massive Dynamic guards. Two black armored SUVs were parked behind them.

"Agent Dunham."

Olivia descended the steps and shook the scientist's hand, smiling politely. Everyone wore grim expressions. Behind them, far in the distance, smoke rose from Manhattan amid the sound of explosions. According to Broyles, the Massive Dynamic building hadn't yet been damaged, but it was just a matter of time.

"Thanks for meeting us, Brandon." The two of them, trailed by Peter and Astrid, strode towards the two cars. "Nina and Broyles debriefed me, but they're not in the warzone. What's the situation over there?"

Brandon glanced at the Manhattan skyline. His normally excited manner was gone, replaced with a seriousness that Olivia had never seen before.

"Not good," he replied darkly, as they stopped in front of the cars. "We evacuated everyone we could from the building. We did manage to get a few things for your team, though."

At his nod, the two Massive Dynamic guards opened the trunk of the nearest SUV and flipped open a heavy black briefcase. Inside were four black bulletproof vests stamped with the letters "FBI" in bright yellow. Another briefcase held high-tech, black, two-barreled guns that Olivia had only seen once before. As Brandon handed Olivia, Peter, and Astrid the vests and weapons, he relayed his instructions.

"These vests aren't your typical bulletproof vests," he explained, as the three of them strapped them on. "I'd go into the specifics, but let's just say that they'll give you extra protection from what you're going to face out there." The three of them glanced at each other, eyebrows raised, as the scientist continued, "Use these weapons. Ordinary guns won't work against the Chitauri, so we're lending you these Shockwave prototypes." As the three of them inspected the futuristic guns, Brandon added, "Don't lose them. Try not to damage them. It'll take years to get these on the market, and they're priceless. They work similar to the weapons you use in your division. Turn off the safety, aim, and shoot. They're powerful, so make sure not to hit any civilians. But they'll take down a Chitauri."

Peter inspected his own gun, frowning.

"We've seen these before. I've _used_ one of these before."

Astrid nodded. "A few years ago, a hitman used one of these to try to kill two people, including an Observer."

"We were told that the technicians couldn't get one to work," Olivia told Brandon, who shrugged.

"Well, _we_ did."

"Why doesn't the NYPD have these?" Olivia asked, holstering her gun. "If they're using regular pistols, they don't stand a chance."

Brandon shook his head and walked around to the front seat of the SUV as one of the guards shut the trunk. As Olivia, Peter, and Astrid got into the car with him, he explained, "Like I said, these are valuable prototypes. We can't let our competitors get a hold of these, or we lose years of R and D." When Olivia opened her mouth to argue, Peter silently placed a hand on her knee, stopping her from giving a sharp retort. He shook his head at her rebellious look. _Not now_, he seemed to be saying.

During the car ride into Manhattan, which was almost completely blocked off, Brandon relayed the rest of his instructions to the Fringe team. They would be joined by another team, courtesy of Massive Dynamic, though he didn't say who the team was comprised of, only that they were trained for something like this, and they were equipped with extra Shockwave weapons. He would drop the Fringe team off as close to the fighting as possible, provide them with motorcycles to get closer to the action, and let them do their work. Broyles had given Olivia her instructions; Massive Dynamic was only there to equip them.

Olivia stared out of the window, processing Brandon's words as her mind worked busily. She had no intention of keeping the Shockwave guns to her team. Screw Brandon and the corporation. If she saw someone who needed help, she was going to help them to the best of her ability.

The trip from Boston, although courtesy of Massive Dynamic's fastest plane, had taken too long. In the brief time it had taken them to get over to Manhattan, untold destruction had occurred. The Fringe Division needed a branch in New York, and they needed to be better equipped for situations like this. They needed a deal to make Massive Dynamic one of their weapons suppliers. The corporation already provided them with other technology, but Fringe needed a weapons deal as well, to make it easier for them to acquire the right equipment quickly in times of need.

As soon as Brandon had finished talking, Olivia was on the phone with Broyles, gathering the latest news and information, and discussing her ideas. He agreed to the weapons deal with Massive Dynamic, as well as the need for a New York branch of the Fringe Divison. The only requirement, he added, was that Olivia would be in charge of the creation of the new branch.

Olivia glanced at Astrid and Peter, who were looking outside but listening in to the conversation. They were gripping their new guns, their faces apprehensive but determined.

"All right," she told Broyles. "But only if I bring my team."

"Done."

A moment later, their SUV was getting closer to the drop-off point. Civilians were streaming away from the center of the chaos, looking terrified, shell-shocked, and ragged. Some of them sported injuries. Olivia switched to the radio attached to her shoulder and began relaying instructions for additional ambulances and emergency vehicles to pick up the injured bystanders. It was a few more minutes before they spotted a Chitauri, which flew high above them in the distance, pursuing a streak of red and gold.

As they pulled up to the drop-off point, Peter found Olivia's hand and squeezed it. It had begun.


	5. Giants Walk the Earth

**A/N: **Got a little philosophical here. The title and quote is from _Batman: the Dark Knight Returns_ by Frank Miller.**  
**

* * *

It was one of those nights when Olivia Dunham couldn't sleep. She was no stranger to that, but she thought that after years in the Fringe Division, she was over sleepless nights. Maybe the first couple of months she'd had restless nights. But after awhile, her day job became normal to her, and she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. There were days when there was an exception, but they were rare, especially after she'd moved in with Peter. She finally felt like she was content.

But then the Chitauri invasion on New York had happened, and once again she felt like her life had turned upside-down. As if everything she thought she knew was wrong. As if everything she thought she could control was uncontrollable. Shapeshifters, alternate universes, multiple timelines – she could deal with that. But alien invasions from outer space…well, that was a completely different matter. After that, she knew that her world was overwhelmingly not prepared for an attack like that. If it weren't for the Avengers' help, the world might have fallen under alien control.

She couldn't let that happen.

So she found herself spearheading Fringe efforts to counterbalance the otherworldly forces that were capable of mass genocide and attack. Of course there were other government groups doing the same thing; Broyles had briefed her on the secret government division called S.H.I.E.L.D. But goddamn it if she couldn't do her own part. That meant leading the launch of a new branch of Fringe in New York City, not far from Massive Dynamic, which became their primary supplier of weapons and technology.

It also meant establishing relations with the Avengers, who were informally linked to SHIELD and extremely disorganized. They came from all over the world – and in Thor's case, another world – which made it hard to communicate with them as a group. It became easier to manage relations with them together after Tony Stark renovated his Stark Tower and converted it into the Avengers Tower, but there were plenty of problems still involved.

For one thing, despite their shady link to SHIELD - of which two of the Avengers were part of – the team had no official leader. Captain America, a natural leader and tactician, was the de facto leader when it came to being in the field, but when it came to human relations with civilians, the media, and the government, Steve Rogers had no clue. Tony Stark had somewhat taken over that area, which meant that Olivia had to deal with him. She was no fan of Tony Stark, but if he was the face and voice of the Avengers, then he was the one she had to deal with. Besides, she was half-convinced that the only reason why the Avengers had relations with Fringe was because of Tony's immense respect for Walter's work. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner had been almost giddy with anticipation at meeting the Einstein of the previous generation. The others didn't share the delight, but they readily accepted Fringe assistance when needed.

Working with the Avengers meant that Olivia frequently spent her time at the Avengers Tower, since Tony Stark did not like to make visits to other places, including the Fringe headquarters. He insisted that if they had to have meetings, they would have to meet at the Avengers Tower. Besides, he would always add, imagine cramming Thor into a car to drive through the city. Thor preferred to fly, but the Fringe Division (among other places) did not like it when gods landed on the roof, usually wrecking the surface in the process.

Which was why Olivia found herself at Avengers Tower at two in the morning. She'd had a long day of meetings and writing reports, and before she knew it, it was already eight at night and she was too tired to drive out of the city and back home in the suburbs. There was a spare room at Avengers Tower, and Peter could take care of Etta for the night. Olivia hated not coming home since she was always gone during the day and couldn't see her daughter until the evening, but Etta had Peter to be there with her. With Olivia's promotion and increase in work, Peter had reduced his own work hours in order to take care of Etta, even though they had a nanny during the day on weekdays. But Olivia always felt a nagging sense of guilt and anxiousness when she was gone from Etta for too long. It was an irrational and unfounded feeling, but constant. As if she couldn't let Etta go. As if she'd already let her go before, and never wanted to again.

Wide awake, Olivia tossed around on her bed. She kept thinking about the Chitauri invasion. Would something like that ever happen again? Were they doing enough to prevent it? She'd researched the other incidents over the past couple of years – the giant robot leveling an entire town, the Hulk destroying part of New York City, bombings that had occurred because of the Mandarin. Those events kept her up at night, constantly worrying that there was nothing anyone could do to prevent them from happening. Sure, the Avengers were good in a tight spot, but they weren't always there. The world couldn't depend on them.

After an hour, Olivia gave up on sleep. Slipping on her shoes, she picked up her laptop then headed to the elevator to go to the room that doubled as her office in the tower. There were always reports to be written. The glass doors of the elevator soundlessly slid apart when she pressed the button to go up, and Olivia entered. After hitting the button, she waited patiently as the elevator smoothly ascended. Each floor was a dark blur as the elevator passed by, but a flash of light caught her eye. Olivia glanced up at the number above the doors, then switched her floor of destination. Somebody was awake on one of the top floors.

It was one of the Research and Development floors that was still alight. The entire floor was one giant, white-tiled studio where the best minds at Stark Industries toiled away at computers and tinkered with technology. The room was usually dark at night, but now the farthest corner of the room was dimly lit with a few lights. Olivia padded into the room, squinting at the corner. It was too far for her to see who it was, but she could tell that the person was moving around, working on something. As she approached, however, she could see that it was Tony Stark. Pieces of an Iron Man suit were laid on the tabletop in front of him. He seemed to be adjusting them, his back to her.

"Agent Dunham." Tony didn't even turn around when he greeted her. Olivia was about to ask how he knew it was her, when she realized that JARVIS must have told him. Handy, to have a personal assistant around all of the time.

"Stark. Couldn't sleep?"

She could hear the smile in his voice as he replied, "And waste all of this time when the tech guys aren't here?"

Olivia sat down at a nearby desk and placed her laptop on the surface.

"Me neither."

She flipped her laptop open, opened up her latest file, and began working on it as Tony continued his own work. They continued to work separately in silence for a minute, before Tony suddenly said, "Hey, JARVIS? Turn on the news, will you?"

A holographic screen appeared next to Tony's work desk and began to broadcast CNN. It was some inane piece about the rise in people converting to cults; one of the mindless bits of "reporting" that CNN had fallen to since it had started broadcasting 24/7. Olivia was about to voice her complaint, when something she heard made her pause and look up.

It was a series of interviews of civilians, people who the interviewers supposedly just stopped on the street. The piece was exploring the possibility that the massive events that had been happening over the last couple of years – including the invasion on New York – were advancing the increase in the popularity of cults because of the population's escalating feeling of fear and lack of control. The only interviews shown were ones in which the interviewees' statements supported the piece's theory. This wasn't what caught Olivia's attention, however; what did catch her attention was one word: Avengers.

"What if the Avengers turn bad?" Olivia's head whipped up. On the screen, two twenty-something girls in matching yoga outfits were looking earnestly at the interviewer. "What if one day they decided not to save our asses and just – I don't know – do bad stuff? Who could stop them?"

"They're like giants." This was an older man in his forties. His gaze was somber. "Giants walking the earth."

"Heh." Olivia glanced at Tony, who was smiling slightly as he listened to the interview. He didn't seem the least perturbed by the suspicious sentiments of the interviewees.

"What is it?" Olivia asked, sitting back in her chair. As the Avengers' rep, Tony had to be feeling slightly worried about this. Even if it came from late-night CNN. The billionaire made some kind of motion with one hand, and the TV screen disappeared. When Olivia repeated her question, Tony just shook his head, his eyes still on his work.

"That last guy? What he said just reminded me of something I read once." He adopted a low, imperious voice. "'Every year they grow smaller. Every year they hate us more. We must not remind them that giants walk the earth.'" When Olivia just stared at him, Tony finally glanced up at her. "It was in a superhero comic, all right? Cheesy stuff." He shrugged dismissively.

Olivia wasn't sure whether it was proper to laugh over the fact that Tony Stark read superhero comic books. Maybe that's where he got his love for the extravagant.

"Do you ever worry about what people think of the Avengers?" she asked curiously, her eyes on the billionaire. "Not just the good, but the bad."

Tony shrugged again.

"The fanmail? JARVIS goes through that."

Olivia rolled her eyes. Getting a serious straight answer from Tony Stark was like getting the truth from Nina Sharp.

"You know what I mean," the agent replied firmly. "There are people – not just the ones on CNN – who are wary about the Avengers. Have you seen the newspapers?" She leaned forward. "You've got the Hulk on your team, for God's sake. You saw what happened to New York."

Tony set his tools down with a clatter as he finally looked up to meet Olivia's gaze.

"So what do you want me to do, apologize for it?" he demanded. "We did the best we could with the tools we had. Destroying half of New York wasn't really part of our plan."

"_So show it_," Olivia retorted. "Stop throwing your weight around. Stop acting like _gods_, and more like _people_." Tony stared at her. "People can demonize all of you as much as they idolize you. If you act above them, they'll start to fear you. But if you show that you're one of them, they won't."

Shaking his head, Tony looked away.

"I can't even believe we're having this conversation," he said, turning away in disgust. "Actually," he continued, turning back around to face Olivia, "I'm glad we are. Because I want to get this straight: _the Avengers saved the planet_. If it weren't for us, everybody-" he made a wide gesture "-would be rubble by now. If people can't muster up a little gratitude for that, it's not my problem."

Olivia stood up and started to pace.

"That's not the point. The people have to trust you, especially because all of your powers can be dangerous."

Tony threw up his hands in disbelief.

"Oh so we're dangerous now?" he said loudly. "Who's going to save your asses the next time a crisis happens?"

"We are." Olivia's voice was quiet. She had stopped pacing. Now she caught Tony's gaze and held it steadily. "We, the people. We have to save ourselves."

"You can't," Tony replied, his voice filled with certainty.

"We can," Olivia countered calmly. "The Avengers just have to show us the way." Tony looked away, shaking his head, and Olivia sighed. "Look, I'm not your PR person-"

"No, you're not," Tony interrupted sharply. He still wasn't looking at her. "You're the liaison, and that's it. Work on your own PR."

If there was any line of dismissal, that was it. Olivia abruptly shut her laptop, picked it up, and left the room. There wasn't anything else she could say to convince Tony to see her way. She was certain that eventually, if they continued to go about casually causing destruction in their cause to save the world, people would turn on the Avengers. It took only one mistake. The masses put them up on a pedestal, but they could damn well tear them down as well. Tony was convinced that his methods would work forever, and that the Avengers could save the world every time, but he was wrong. The world couldn't depend on the Avengers to save them every time. They had to be inspired to save themselves.

* * *

**A/N: **First of all, it took me awhile to figure out when the invasion would take place, and I decided it would be after the end of the fifth season. Thus, Olivia and Peter have Etta.

I went a little into Olivia's thinking and how she views the Avengers. Yes, she sees them as heroes, but she's also pragmatic. The world can be dangerous, and the people need to be able to defend themselves. Also, as someone with a lot of responsibility, Olivia knows the importance of it. She believes the Avengers have to be responsible since they're the world's heroes.

Let me know what you think!


End file.
